L.A. Controller Wendy Greuel Says She Wants To Be Your Next Mayor

It's not all that unexpected -- we've been hearing this rumor for years -- but L.A. City Controller Wendy Greuel has announced that she'll be entering Los Angeles' mayoral race, according to Rick Orlov of the Daily News.

L.A. City Council President Eric Garcetti, former L.A. councilman and current state Senator Alex Padilla, longtime L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, big bucks developer Rick Caruso, and wealthy businessman and deputy mayor Austin Beutner are believed to be considering mayoral candidacies.

L.A. Councilwoman Jan Perry has already announced her intention to run for mayor.

Orlov reports that Greuel says she needs $3 million to $4 million to be a viable contender and possibly become L.A.'s first female mayor. That sounds a little a low to us, especially if super rich guys Caruso and Beutner join the race.

On the campaign trail, Greuel will no doubt bring up that she's been trying to stop millions of dollars worth of waste inside L.A. City Hall with her regular audits, which show how city government can be streamlined one way or another.

Greuel was an L.A. councilwoman between 2002 and 2009 and replaced former city controller Laura Chick, who made her mark as a tough City Hall watchdog.

It's been rumored that Chick is also considering a run for the Mayor's Office.

It's been often said that Greuel has a tight relationship with L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, but he has yet to publicly signal who he may throw his support behind in the 2013 race for mayor.

Mayoral candidates will start to file their official paperwork this week, which will allow them to begin raising the millions of dollars they'll need to run a competitive campaign.